The Minister of State and supervising Minister of Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan, has commended the intervention of the United Nation and its support to countries in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), noting that these interventions have helped in no small measure to curtail the spread of the disease.
Alhassan gave this commendation in a statement to the 64th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, in Cotonou where he shared the experiences of Nigeria’s Ebola success story with the 47-nation member body.
In making recommendations, the Minister suggested that the Ebola response for Africa should be coordinated by the African Union (AU). He stated that the AU should work through the regional bodies, such as ECOWAS in the case of West Africa, so that all support will be coordinated by regional bodies, while the AU provides strategic guidance and leadership.
During the conference, in which Nigeria was constantly mentioned as a reference point for successful Ebola containment response, Africa’s most populous country shared its EVD containment strategy with the regional health body.
It will be recalled that on the 20th of October 2014, having completed forty-two days without any confirmed case of the Ebola Virus Disease, the WHO declared Nigeria Ebola free.
However, Government has not let down its guard and is still advocating for Nigerians to inculcate healthy habits that prevent the spread of the disease, such as good sanitation including regular hand washing.
The ban on the repatriation of human remains into the country and the interstate movement of corpses still remains in place and can only be waived with the permission of the Minister of Health or the Commissioner of Health as applicable.
The 64th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa ends tomorrow.
